There are various methods for gold mining, each of which is used for different gold deposits. Primary deposits of the precious metal are characterized by the fact that the gold has yet to be extracted from the rock mass. Secondary gold has already been dissolved from the rock and is usually found on the bottom of rivers together with gravel and stones.
Gold mining can be done by gold panning, amalgamation, cyanide leaching or an anode sludge process.
Gold mining from alluvial deposits
The oldest strategy for gold mining, around 4,000 years old, is the washing of river placers - it is still used today. One advantage of this gold mining method is that it is completely environmentally friendly, but one disadvantage is that it is very complex and laborious. This method takes advantage of the high density of gold, which means that the precious metal settles on the bottom of the pans when they are swirled.
Gold mining by amalgamation
In the Middle Ages, a method of mining gold was developed in which the gold ore obtained from mining was ground and mixed with mercury. This dissolved the precious metal and the subsequent heating process produced fine gold. Today, efforts are being made to replace this method as far as possible, as it entails risks for the environment.
Gold mining by cyanide leaching
A method of gold mining that is no less harmful to the environment is cyanide leaching. Here, the gold is extracted through a chemical reaction with sodium cyanide.
Sydney diamond ring in yellow gold
Nowadays, gold mining is predominantly carried out using an electrochemical process, which allows gold with a particularly high fineness to be extracted. This method is also called refining and is characterized by the fact that copper, which contains gold, is broken down into its components using an electronic circuit.
Efforts for environmentally friendly gold mining
Meanwhile, several organizations are addressing the issue of gold mining that does not pose any risks to nature, such as the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) and the Publish What You Pay (PWYP) initiative.
In addition, the No dirty Gold campaign was launched, which is supported in Germany primarily by the Food First Information and Action Network (FIAN).
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